“Today, I will let myself enjoy life as I go through my day.” affirmation from Melody Beattie’s book, The Language of Letting Go
I just feel yucky today. I don’t really know why or have a good reason, It’s one of those days. As coincidence would have it, today is Friday the 13th. I’m not superstitious, but it is a bit ironic.
I’ve tried to keep focus, but here it is mid-day and still feeling the same. So I flip through Melody Beattie’s book The Language of Letting Go, and turn to the excerpt for today.
Short and sweet, it talks about how I don’t need to be miserable. That life is to enjoy. Put as much energy into having fun as I put into feeling bad. Hmmm. Ok, interesting way to put it.
It’s funny because it starts off with the statement “One of the prohibitions many of us learned in childhood is the unspoken rule, Don’t have fun and enjoy life.” My mother would find this extremely unfair that I feel this way, but this resonates with me completely.
It goes on to say “Many of us associated suffering with some sort of sainthood. Now, we associate it with codependency.” Also interesting, because yes, that’s exactly how I felt growing up.
That’s the thing. I’m not a child anymore and I need to stop acting like someone or something is making me feel this way. It is completely under my control. So, I’m going to breathe deep, focus on the tasks in front of me, and then put some energy into feeling good.
Let me brainstorm:
• Yoga after work
• Playing with my son
• Relaxing with my husband
• Reading
• Meditating (ugh.. this one I’m still working on…)
• Color (I don’t know where that came from… just popped out)
• Board games, dominoes
• Ooohh—Just Dance video game on the Wii!
• Petting the dogs
Have you ever tried guided meditation/visualization? I love the peaceful feeling that comes from meditating, but I am totally challenged and cannot keep my mind focused! I have a few on an MP3 player and listening to them often put me to sleep
Sharon Salzberg and Jon Kabat-Zinn come to mind… check it out. I’d love to hear how it works for you.
Thanks for the suggestion! I haven’t tried guided meditation CDs, only participated in guided meditation with an instructor- but they are not always easily accessible. I’ve been wanting to try on my own, but didn’t know where to start- thank you!
No problem! As I was listening to mine last night, I remembered the name of the woman I really like; http://www.shaktigawain.com/
I have one of her’s where you relax first, then make up a beautiful natural place and it is actually kind of fun. I always feel relaxed and often fall asleep